Fashion: Do it for the money, if you don't do it for the style
Razorback Runway
Natalie Johnson
Issue date: 10/1/08 Section: Lifestyles
Did you brush your teeth, dress yourself, ride in a vehicle or carry a backpack this morning? If the answer is yes, you have propelled fashion's overarching industry of textiles in some way today.
Although most school curriculums do not acknowledge it, the textile industry is important in almost all areas of study and careers. Textiles do not only interest students studying apparel studies or interior design at the UA.
Business students will manage the lifespan of textile products. Science fields will discover why textiles perform in certain ways and will produce the most efficient textiles for all areas of life. Industrial and technical textiles are essential in all career fields, from the food industry to medical supplies, wrote Sarah J. Kadolph, in the textbook "Textiles."
"The textile industry includes so many more industries than apparel. Think about artificial heart valves, food packaging, automobiles and geo-textiles," said textiles professor Dr. Leigh Southward.
Southward's course, Introduction to Textile Science, HESC 2053, explores textile fibers and fabrics and their properties and applications. Various characteristics of textiles are important to know when using them. Restaurants, for example, must choose fire-resistant fabrics to cover seats to meet fire-codes and regulations.
"The textile industry developed from an art-and-crafts industry perpetuated by guilds in the early centuries, through the Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th centuries [when emphasis was on mechanization and mass production], to the 21st century, with its emphasis on science, technology, quality, and cost-efficiency," Kadolph wrote.
Natural fibers like cotton and silk are suitable for clothing and personal needs. The soft texture and absorbency of cotton make it comfortable and easy to wear. Wool's excellent thermal retention and elastic recovery make it perfect for sweaters and warm clothing, she wrote.
Manufactured and synthetic fibers have been developed only within the last 100 years. Rayon production began in 1911; the original "miracle fiber," nylon began in the U.S. in 1938 and the current "miracle fiber" polyester was introduced in the U.S. in 1951.
Employment openings and salaries just in the retail business of textiles products have doubled since last July, according to fedstats.gov.
Textiles' history, composition, use or advantage has some effect on most careers that students will enter after graduating from the UA. The fast-growing and lucrative industry is guaranteed to hold jobs, money and endless advances in the future. Whether it is the aesthetics, chemistry or end-use of textiles, we all benefit from them and can use them to our advantage the most with the proper understanding.
Natalie Johnson is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
Although most school curriculums do not acknowledge it, the textile industry is important in almost all areas of study and careers. Textiles do not only interest students studying apparel studies or interior design at the UA.
Business students will manage the lifespan of textile products. Science fields will discover why textiles perform in certain ways and will produce the most efficient textiles for all areas of life. Industrial and technical textiles are essential in all career fields, from the food industry to medical supplies, wrote Sarah J. Kadolph, in the textbook "Textiles."
"The textile industry includes so many more industries than apparel. Think about artificial heart valves, food packaging, automobiles and geo-textiles," said textiles professor Dr. Leigh Southward.
Southward's course, Introduction to Textile Science, HESC 2053, explores textile fibers and fabrics and their properties and applications. Various characteristics of textiles are important to know when using them. Restaurants, for example, must choose fire-resistant fabrics to cover seats to meet fire-codes and regulations.
"The textile industry developed from an art-and-crafts industry perpetuated by guilds in the early centuries, through the Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th centuries [when emphasis was on mechanization and mass production], to the 21st century, with its emphasis on science, technology, quality, and cost-efficiency," Kadolph wrote.
Natural fibers like cotton and silk are suitable for clothing and personal needs. The soft texture and absorbency of cotton make it comfortable and easy to wear. Wool's excellent thermal retention and elastic recovery make it perfect for sweaters and warm clothing, she wrote.
Manufactured and synthetic fibers have been developed only within the last 100 years. Rayon production began in 1911; the original "miracle fiber," nylon began in the U.S. in 1938 and the current "miracle fiber" polyester was introduced in the U.S. in 1951.
Employment openings and salaries just in the retail business of textiles products have doubled since last July, according to fedstats.gov.
Textiles' history, composition, use or advantage has some effect on most careers that students will enter after graduating from the UA. The fast-growing and lucrative industry is guaranteed to hold jobs, money and endless advances in the future. Whether it is the aesthetics, chemistry or end-use of textiles, we all benefit from them and can use them to our advantage the most with the proper understanding.
Natalie Johnson is a columnist for The Arkansas Traveler. Her column appears every other Wednesday.
Be the first to comment on this story